Pep Guardiola is one of the very few people in football who does not find his Barcelona side irresistible. Despite having one of the great teams in history and savouring their triumph in the Champions League, the manager is still determined to leave when his contract expires next summer. The present deal only applies at all because Guardiola agreed a one-year extension in February.

For him, the idea of working with inferior footballers is almost whimsical, rather than alarming. "I will ask, 'Where are the players?' and have problems finding them. Maybe that will be the challenge for me. In that moment all I can do is try to play as well as possible."

There was an undercurrent of ambition to the remark, as if Guardiola wants to demonstrate that he can succeed even when he no longer has his present advantages. As it is, the manager has still had to put his imprint on Barcelona despite being in charge only since 2008, following a season running the B team.

He has at his disposal a group with strong bonds. Carles Puyol, following knee surgery, had made only three appearances since January, but the club captain did not hog the limelight when he came on after 85 minutes. Instead, the centre-half invited Eric Abidal to wear the armband and lift the trophy. "It's spectacular," said the Frenchman, who had surgery for liver cancer in March. "I'm so thankful for the gesture."

This is a group that ought also to have the trust in one another born of success. Seven of the players who appeared at some stage at Wembley had been in the starting line-up when Spain beat Holland to win the World Cup last summer.

Their club manager has not tried to grab credit and, in any case, David Villa's move from Valencia to Barcelona was only confirmed in May 2010. Guardiola would not suggest that he has been the making of a footballer who cost £34m.

So far he has avoided all temptation to act as if he were any sort of overlord, yet there is a restlessness within Guardiola that tends to characterise outstanding managers. Barcelona's win over Manchester United in the 2009 final almost rankles. "When I looked back I was not so impressed," he said. "We trained much more to play differently against United [this time]. We had many more chances. I wanted to win but the way we won is what I'm most proud of."

It is easy to be magnanimous in victory, but Guardiola's regard for his beaten rival felt sincere: "I have even more admiration for Sir Alex Ferguson now because they have been in three Champions League finals in four years," the Spaniard said. "My admiration is that any manager can be at the same club for 25 years. That would be impossible in Spain or Italy.

"I know people say, 'Pep Guardiola is good', but if I missed one year I'd be fired. It's different. You can have girls falling at your feet when you win. But that can change overnight. I find it hard to imagine one coach at a huge club for 25 years, building one team and then having to bring in new players and create new teams time and again. That is why my admiration is unbelievable because what he has done is so difficult."

Ferguson, for his part, can hardly comprehend why Guardiola plans to stand down so soon: "If he's really considering that," said the Scot, "he'll never have this experience again. That's for sure."

From a pragmatic perspective, though, the departure of Guardiola from Camp Nou cannot come soon enough for the other leading clubs.